title: Estimating the number of street children and adolescents in two cities of Brazil using capture-recapture.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To use the capture-recapture method to estimate the number of street children and adolescents in Maceió and Arapiraca, north-east Brazil, and describe the characteristics of the two populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  The number of children and adolescents on the street in Maceió and Arapiraca was estimated using the multi-list capture-recapture method. Two street surveys and an official list from the social services department were compared. The characteristics of the children were recorded during the street surveys using a questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The estimated number of street children and adolescents was 5225 in Maceió and 1191 in Arapiraca. According to the official records, the population registered was 565 and 157, respectively. Most individuals were male (71.4% and 71.8%, respectively). They still maintain contact with their families (85.5% in Maceió and 89.6% in Arapiraca) and attend school regularly (43.4% and 49.7%). Drug use was admitted by 46.9% of the individuals in Maceió and by 26.9% in Arapiraca. In both cities, glue inhalation, associated or not with other drugs, was most frequently cited.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children and adolescents on the streets are a common and underestimated occurrence in Maceió and Arapiraca. They have similar characteristics to street children from other countries and other cities in Brazil. The method of capture-recapture seems to be suited to study populations such as street children.
authors.affiliation: Health Sciences, Federal University of Sergipe, Aracaju, Brazil.
authors.forename: Kátia Floripes
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Bezerra
authors.forename: Ricardo Queiroz
authors.initials: RQ
authors.lastname: Gurgel
authors.forename: Chinenye
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ilozue
authors.forename: Daniel Neyra
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Castaneda
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D018453:Homeless Youth / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D017678:Sex Distribution; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*